Xiaomi Redmi Y3 Review: Buy Redmi Note 7 instead

Almost every brand with deep pockets is trying to break Xiaomi’s run in the budget segment. However, the Chinese smartphone isn’t the one to shy away from a contest. With theRedmi Note 7 Pro, Xiaomi declared a war. And after reinstating the Note, Xiaomi is now leveraging the momentum to refresh its affordable phone lineup. (Xiaomi Redmi Y3 Review हिदी में पढ़िए)

The Redmi Y3, that launched alongside the Redmi 7, is meant to be a delight for selfie enthusiasts. But is it a phone you should buy for 10K? Or should you rather look for alternatives? We will discuss our experience and answer all such questions in the following Redmi Y3 review.

Xiaomi Redmi Y3 Unboxing: What’s in the box

The Xiaomi Redmi Y3 comes in the regular box packaging. Here’s everything that Xiaomi includes inside the box:

Redmi Y3 handset

Wall charging adapter

MicroUSB cable

TPU back case

SIM ejector tool

Documentation

Xiaomi Redmi Y3 Review: Design and Build quality

Xiaomi recently switched to a new design with the Redmi Note 7 series, and as we’d expected the same Auro design now extends to the Y3 (and to the Redmi 7).

The Redmi Y3 sports a display with a tiny U-shaped dot notch at the top housing its biggest highlight, the selfie camera, and the earpiece. There are thin bezels on side edges and a sizable chin at the bottom with notification light. Although the display is taller than the Redmi Y2, the newcomer is still more compact and offers a better in-hand feel.

Flip it over, and you will notice a reflecting gradian pattern available in three colors – Elegant Blue, Bold Red, and Prime Black. The Note 7 had a real glass back, but the more affordable Y3 (and Redmi 7) have glass-finish polycarbonate back, which is why Xiaomi could conveniently add curves, thus facilitating a firm grip.

Also on the rear are dual cameras arranged vertically at the top left corner. The fingerprint sensor at the center is accessible and Redmi by Xiaomi branding also finds a place close to the bottom.

Like the Note 7-series, the Redmi Y3 is splash resistant. And unlike the Note 7-series, Y3 comes with a dedicated card slot and has a regular micro USB port (No Type-C). As for the built quality, we have noticed that it’s a bit too prone to scratches. The rear panel picks up scuff marks even with regular wiping. We recommend you use the bundled TPU case as soon as you take the phone out of the box.

Xiaomi Redmi Y3 Review: Display

The Redmi Y3 features a 6.26-inch (19:9) HD+ IPS screen. In comparison, the Redmi Note 7 that costs the same as a much sharper FHD+ display.

The color temperature of the screen is slightly on the cooler side, but there’s an option to adjust the color temperature and contrast to one’s specific taste. Xiaomi has also added a TUV certified reading mode which is lighter on eyes. The Y3 screen is sufficiently bright for indoor use, but under harsh sunlight, even 100 percent brightness falls short.

The screen has Gorilla Glass 5 protection as well. Overall, the display seems good enough, the one on the Note 7 is better.

Xiaomi Redmi Y3 Review: Performance and software

For the Redmi Y3, Xiaomi has sided with less-than-a-year-old Snapdragon 632 octa-core chipset that is built on the 14nm process technology. The chipset features custom Kyro 250 cores and Cortex-A53 cores. The Redmi Y3 is offered in two combinations – 3GB RAM and 32GB storage, and 4GB RAM and 64GB storage – each with a dedicated card slot.

On the software front, it runs MIUI 10 which is based on Android Pie and is ridden with ads. If you have used a Xiaomi phone before, you will find yourself on familiar grounds. By default, all apps icons are stacked on the home screen. While fiddling with the phone, we noticed bloatware, however, users are allowed to uninstall many of these preloaded apps.

In terms of performance, I found it to be a bit underwhelming, but I guess it wouldn’t be fair to complain considering the price. The Snapdragon 632 is a decent chip for affordable phones, but on the Redmi Y3, I frequently ran into app crashes and lags. I guess these issues should be fixed with an upcoming update.

High-end games like PUBG and Asphalt 8 are playable at lowest settings.

Xiaomi Redmi Y3 Benchmarks: Antutu and Geekbench

On AnTuTu, the Redmi Y3 managed to cross 100K mark and achieved a score of 101496. On the Geekbench, it managed to hit 1248 in single core test and 4314 in the multi-core test. The above infographic will give you an idea of where Redmi Y3 stands in benchmark comparison against Xiaomi Redmi 7, Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro, Realme 3, Asus Zenfone Max Pro M2 and Realme U1.

Xiaomi Redmi Y3 Camera Review

Xiaomi started off the Redmi Y3 launch by talking about the selfie camera. The 32MP front sensor on the Y3 is 1/ 2.8 – inch in size and around 22.5 percent bigger than the one we had on the Redmi Y2 last year. The Redmi Y3 combines 4 pixels and bins them into 1 to outputs 8MP resolution images with better details and wide dynamic range.

The Redmi Y3 32MP selfie camera is also empowered by AI beautify 4.0 mode which, Xiaomi claims, will subtly enhance your shots, instead of dramatically blowing them off. I don’t use Beautify for selfies, which is to say I am not an authority on the matter, but I didn’t notice much difference compared to other beautify modes.

The front camera also benefits from auto HDR which should help avoid selfies with washed backdrops, a software or AI-powered portrait selfie mode, a remote selfie feature, EIS, and more.

This selfie I shot on Auto mode with HDR set to auto. The 32MP sensor was able to capture a good amount of details here.

In terms of real-life performance, the Redmi Y3 selfie camera seems to be performing well enough. The selfies I clicked turn out to be crisp and were well metered.

Here it is, the Redmi Y3 seflie portrait mode in action. While details and colors are good, the edges detection is far from perfect.

On the rear, there is a 12MP primary camera paired with a 2MP depth sensor. The rear camera has AI to detect scenes in order to adjust camera settings accordingly.

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The pictures I clicked with the Redmi Y3 rear camera don’t place the camera as the absolute best in this price segment, but they are definitely not bad. The daylight performance is decent enough. The low light camera performance is reasonable for the price as well. This is the same rear camera module that Xiaomi also uses on the Redmi Note 7.

Xiaomi Redmi Y3 Review: Battery

Among the other highlights, the Redmi Y3 packs a 4,000mAh battery. The handset easily managed to deliver a day mileage consistently. During the time of this review, I have used it as my primary device with multiple emails, social media accounts, and content streaming services synced.

Having said that, one thing that I noticed that the battery drops quickly while consuming video content. As for charging, there is nothing praiseworthy here.

Xiaomi Redmi Y3 Review Verdict: Should You Buy It

In 2019, the ‘Selfie’ marketing pitch has run out of steam, but that doesn’t mean young consumers are any less interested in self-portraits. The Xiaomi Redmi Y3 should appeal to such selfie enthusiasts who have somehow stayed away from its remarkably successful Note series.

The Redmi Note 7 that retails for the same price has a better chipset, superior performance, fast charging support, and uses more premium materials in its construction, and the Redmi Y3 is an alternative that offers a relatively more ergonomic design, dedicated card slot, and a better selfie camera.

To sum it up, I’d dare to say that if today I have to buy a phone for Rs 10,000 I will buy Redmi Note 7 instead of Redmi Y3. But if you are particularly keen on shooting selfies, you may consider the Y3 instead.

Is trying to explore the world outside, and the one inside. Exploring new places, photography and classic cinema, make his eyes sparkle every day. In his spare time, he tries to scribble his opinions and thoughts which are often quite boring.